Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Our sample roaster has arrived! It’s a Roure drum roaster with an electronic heating element and cooling bin with rotating arms. It comes from Spain but is built like a German tank.We've roasted our way through 12 samples of Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees and we're very satisfied with the results.

Green coffee samples are sent from growers, brokers or exporters in small bags - usually 200 g. each. To roast such a small amount you need a specific roaster. A lot of the small sample roasters don't allow for any (real) adjustment of the heat, so the result from a sample roaster can be very different than what you will get on a larger roaster.

Consistency is very important when sample roasting as you might have several coffees from the same region or cooperative from which you have to choose one to buy. If one is roasted darker or lighter than the others it will be difficult to evaluate and compare the taste of that one.

We are interested in the 500g Sample roasters. Most of the built quality of Italian sample roasters are of poor quality like Petrucini or others . Has your a cyclon to be connected ? Even 200g may result in smoke. Where is the temp probe placed so will it give reliable indication with only 200g ? How many heaing elements are there ? Can you switch them seperatly or what kind of control you have ?